M arie-Helene Bertino ’95 Finds Success with
the
Pen
By Kristen DiPrinzio
Marie-Helene Bertino seeks magic in the ordinary. There is no shortage of magic in her debut novel, 2 AM at The Cat’s Pajamas. The book weaves enchanting stories set in Philadelphia and bound by a cast of seemingly mismatched characters. Madeleine, a feisty nine-year-old, is a South Philly-bred Catholic school student with a cracked home life and a dream to sing (and a pottymouth). Sarina, Madeleine’s teacher, is navigating the tricky path of rekindling a long-lost love while recovering from a failed marriage. Lorca is the owner of The Cat’s Pajamas, a revered Fishtown jazz club that the city threatens to shutter due to a laundry list of violations and fines. Their stories are intertwined throughout a single day, and somehow, they all converge at two a.m. 2 AM at The Cat’s Pajamas debuted to high praise. The book was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2014. Buzzfeed declared it “one of the most exciting literary debuts of 2014.” Flavorwire and O Magazine included it on their rosters of acclaimed books. It was chosen for Barnes & Noble’s “Discover Great New Writers” list, and was recommended by The Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, and other media outlets. Bertino knew from a very young age that she wanted to be an author. During her years at the Mount, she wrote “nothing but poetry.” Former English faculty member Mrs. Marguerite McGlinn became one of Bertino’s earliest mentors, sending one of her poems out for publication. “It was the first time a teacher took interest in my work and encouraged me,” Bertino says. Bertino’s inspiration for 2 AM at The Cat’s Pajamas came from bits of her own life. Like Madeleine, Bertino grew up singing in church and always had a love for music. Years ago, she spent an evening at South Philadelphia jazz club Warmdaddy’s with friends. She felt everything was magical: the sunset, the music, the company that surrounded her. She wanted to write a novel that captured that night. And so began 2 AM at The Cat’s Pajamas. Ten years would pass before Bertino finished the novel. After completing her undergraduate years at Villanova University, Bertino unsuccessfully applied to several MFA poetry programs. Undaunted, she decided to move to New York. Bertino rationalized that if she couldn’t be a writer, she was at least going to be around writers. She moved to New York at age 25 and immediately found a writer’s group on Craigslist. The group opened Bertino’s eyes to modern writers who were penning irreverent, funny works of fiction. She realized that if she could be that creative with fiction, she would try her hand at it. “It was like finding the love of my life,” Bertino said. “I realized it’s what I’m on this Earth to do.” She worked a full-time job and devoted weekends to writing and sending out submissions. While rejections appeared in her mailbox as consistently as the utility bills, she also started receiving acceptances. She was 27 when the Mississippi Review informed her that “North Of,” her story about a girl who brings Bob Dylan home to Thanksgiving dinner, won its Short Story of the Year prize. That piece also won a Pushcart Prize and has been reprinted five times (one of which was a Japanese translation). She then wrote Safe As Houses, winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Prize, and short stories that appeared in various publications. The author has made writing her life’s work. In addition to her published pieces, she’s an adjunct professor at New York University and for the Institute for Indian American Arts, a low-residency MFA program based in Santa Fe, which she visits twice a year. A fellow at New York’s Center for Fiction, Bertino continues to reside in Brooklyn, where she is an active member of a vibrant community of writers. She has written a children’s book, and is working on her second novel. “It is an overriding passion and love that I feel for [writing] that keeps me going,” Bertino says. “Writing is the way I express myself in the world. It’s the way I explain the absurdities of the world to myself. Whether or not I get published is almost beside the point.” As for her definition of success, Bertino says that some in the literary world define it with a bestseller status; for her, it’s simpler. “My dream was to get a novel published,” she says. “I still can’t believe it happened. Success to me is being able to make a career out of writing.”
22
Fall 2015
Photo: Sioux Nesi